I ran a simple exercise where I placed a 50mmx50mm part on top of and in the center of a 100mmx100mm part (t=25mm for each part).

I then set up 2 studies:

1. two faces were bonded;
2. the edges (qty=4 edges) were bonded to one face of the other part.

Then I applied a load on one bonded edge (not a face) (the load was a point load SW didn't allow me to place a uniformaly distributed load or pressure on an edge) and discovered that:

1. the VM stresses within the assembly were the same; and
2. the stresses parallel to the direction of the load, in the assembly, were the same (say the load is in "Y", then then Y-normal stress/direction is parallel to the load).

Could anyone explain why this is the case? Definitely not what I expected, here's why:

First,  I imagine that the face to face bond contact condition could represent glue - currently within in SW I don't think it does. I state this because when I ask SW to show the vector plot of the stress, it shows up on one edge only, not on the entire area - not what I would expect.

Further, the values of the normal stresses, according to SW vary depending on location - this I expect due to the nature of FEA and the solvers being employed; however, nowhere do I see 200,000N/(50mmx50mm) = 80MPa, the value that we are most likely to engineer the shear bond to resist

Second, if I can identify edges that can be bonded to a surface, then I would expect them to act as welds within SW and the results be reported appropriately so that I can then size the weld based on the appropriate throat size or have SW do it for me - QED - but not at all what I am seeing.

In summary, I would expect to see a difference between the results one sees for face vs edge bonding + I see them as representing 2 different real world applications

Comments, thoughts and feedback most welcome